Sonic Adventure 2
by Wile E. Coyote
Summary: The heroes arrive on the ARk and plan to blow up the Eclipse Cannon using a fake emerald created by Tails. Eggman and Shadow won't let this happen. Which side will be victorious?
1. Mystery of Project Shadow

Sonic Adventure 2

**Prologue**

50 years prior to the events of the story, the residing President initiated research on a confidential project: mankind's eternal dream, the search for immortality. The man approached with this idea was the foremost scientist of the day, Professor Gerald Robotnik, grandfather of our very own Eggman. Being a man of ethics, Gerald stubbornly refused to undertake the project. His mind was changed when he began thinking about the plight of his beloved granddaughter, Maria Robotnik (Eggman's cousin). Maria was diagnosed with NIDS (Neuro Immunodeficiency Syndrome), a disease incurable by medicine of the era. Motivated by the thought of finding a cure for his granddaughter, Gerald finally agreed to conduct research on immortality. Studies on Maria's disease were already being conducted aboard the ARK, a giant spherical research facility in space, but the studies gained newfound hope with Gerald's announcement of the immortality project. At first, many were shocked and uncertain. Could a project so reckless and unrealistic have been fabricated by the mind of Pr. Gerald Robotnik? Nonetheless, studies commenced, and the strictly confidential research was dubbed "Project Shadow", named from the irony involved in trying to create a being which does not naturally exist... a "shadow", so to speak.

In the early phases of the project, the Chaos Emeralds were researched with the hopes of applying their properties to living beings. These studies resulted in the development of Chaos Drives, small capsules of energy which could be used to fuel the life support system of the "Prototype of the Ultimate Life". The prototype, modelled in the image of a lizard, initially showed positive results: it possessed the abilities of regeneration, self-restoration, and self-reproduction. The researchers were thrilled, but as the creature continued to evolve, it became unruly and difficult to control. Many began having concerns as to the safety of the residents on board the ARK, and questioned the continuation of the project. Eventually, one or more unknown researchers leaked information on Project Shadow to G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nation), a military organization, who decided that action must be taken against this dubious research...

G.U.N.'s plan was to shut down the ARK and eliminate all those associated with Project Shadow. They violently seized control of ARK, evacuating all the residents to the planet while killing everyone involved with the ultimate life-form except for Gerald himself, who was incarcerated. Once ARK was cleared and all the research facilities frozen, G.U.N. sealed the prototype creature away in the deepest part of the colony. The entire takeover was completed in less than a week. G.U.N.'s public response was that the ARK was evacuated due to a dangerous accident on board, and that all the scientists lost were victims of the disaster. Gerald himself was falsely accused of causing the "accident", and sentenced to death. But there was one minor miscalculation on G.U.N.'s part...

As G.U.N.'s plan was being executed, Gerald was already putting the finishing touches on another version of the ultimate life, a form vastly superior to the prototype. When G.U.N. troops stormed the colony, Gerald managed to elude their grasp long enough to finalize this true "Ultimate Lifeform". When he discovered Maria's name on the list of casualties resulting from the G.U.N. invasion, it was the last straw. The once-great Pr. Gerald Robotnik became a man obsessed with revenge. He altered his final project, code-named Shadow, and programmed him with a new mission...

**Chapter 1: The Ultimate Lifeform**

Security alarms blared out around the Prison Island base as the evil scientist, Dr. Eggman, marched into the base in his new Egg Walker machine. After Eggman's attempt to use Chaos as a weapon, the doctor ran out of ideas! So he scanned the internet for any new ideas. He then decided to hack into the GUN files and he discovered his grandfather's journal, telling of the creation of the Ultimate Lifeform. Eggman then decided to find the Ultimate Lifeform and use it to conquer the world.

"Hahahaha! This task is so easy!" said Eggman "These military chaps don't have very good security". With that Dr. Eggman fired a laser blast from his walker at a locked door, which exploded.

The Eggman destroyed security robots that were stolen from his own ideas. He destroyed more locked doors and robots, until he came to a large room. All that was in the room was a small computer console. As if Eggman was Dr. Octopus from Spiderman, he slithered over to the computer and turned on the console. The screen was blue and in black words came "Password required!". Eggman thought hard for a moment and he then grinned eagerly.

He typed in a five letter password.

"Ma-Ri-A" spelt Eggman as he entered the password. Maria was Eggman's older cousin who was killed many years before.

The password was accepted and several options appeared on the screen. Eggman read them and selected Activate Ultimate Lifeform. There was a sudden loud grinding sound and a large column emerged from the metal floor. But to Eggman's surprise, standing on top of the column, was some sort of hedgehog.

"Sonic! Is that you?" snarled Eggman "I'm warning you, stay out of my way this time!".

This hedgehog was not Sonic. This hedgehog was coloured black as the night sky. He had five long quills lancing out of his head, each highlighted with a single red stripe. He had similar red stripes down the side of his eyes, which were burning crimson red. A small tuff of white hair sat on the hedgehog's chest. The hedgehog wore golden rings on his wrists and ankles. He also wore red and white rocket shoes on his feet. On his arms and legs were short pointed red stripes.

As Eggman continued raving, the black hedgehog spoke up. "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog. Also known as the Ultimate Lifeform!" explained the hedgehog. Eggman looked at him curiously.

"Oh, so you are not Sonic" said Eggman. Shadow shook his head, his black quills moving like floating serpents.

"Right! I am Doctor Eggman! Super genius and inventor extraordinaire!" announced Eggman and shot out a pose.

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"Well Dr. Eggman, since you freed me, I shall grant you a wish" said Shadow smirking. Eggman cocked his head in confusion.

"What are you some sort of fairy godmother?" snapped Eggman. Shadow glared at the doctor with such a threatening stare, Eggman backed away.

"I am not kidding around doctor" said Shadow.

Eggman didn't know whether to think this wish thing was a valuable offer or a nauseating come-on.

Suddenly, alarms started blaring and red lights flashed around the room. There was a loud rumble from the ceiling, which caved in as a large machine flew into the room. It was green, black and red, with two large yellow blocks on its back.

"B-3x Hotshot to G-4y Blaster...I've found the intruder with the prisoner...commencing attack" said a man within the robot.

Eggman backed off as Shadow jumped from his platform and landed in front of the scientist.

"Stand back doctor!" said Shadow, his rocket shoes levitating him up into the air "Let me show you my true power!".

With seconds, Shadow was racing towards Hotshot, who flew up into the air and began firing bullets at Shadow. The black and red hedgehog swiftly dodged the bullets and flew up to face the robot. He sent a speeding kick into Hotshot and knocked it down. Hotshot got back up and launched a series of homing missiles at Shadow. Shadow leapt up the missiles and creating a golden spear in his palm, Shadow cried out

"Chaos Spear!" and slammed the attack in the cockpit of Hotshot. The man in the cockpit shielded his face as it exploded and Hotshot fell apart. Shadow landed on the ground triumphantly. Eggman came out of his hiding place, grinning.

"Impressive" said Eggman "But what did you mean by granting me a wish?". Shadow approached Dr. Eggman and smiled.

"Just find the Chaos Emeralds" said Shadow "I'll be waiting in the central command room of the Space Colony Ark!".

Eggman smiled.

"Well, it just so happens I have one here" said Eggman and produced the Grey Chaos Emerald. Shadow smiles and takes the emerald from Eggman and proudly looks at it.

"Perfect" said Shadow and looked at his creator's grandson.

"From now on, no one will be able to stand against the full power of Dr. Eggman and Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform!" announced Eggman and he started laughing.

**Chapter 2: Shattering of the Master Emerald**

In some desert ruins, Knuckles the Echidna stood on one side of the giant Master Emerald, breathing heavily. On the other side of the emerald, was a white female bat with black wings. She wore a black battle-costume with a pink heart stitched into the front. She wore long white gloves, which matched her large white boots. She looked at Knuckles closely through half open eyes.

Knuckles had caught the bat stealing the Master Emerald and making her escape from Angel Island. Knuckles chased after her and managed to knock her down into his sandy desert.

"I think it would be best if you just let me take that emerald" insisted the bat.

"Not a chance, bat-girl!" snarled Knuckles quickly "The Master Emerald is not just an ordinary gem. It neutralises the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds".

"I don't care if neutralises the power of a microwave!" snapped the bat, not giving a toss about the emerald's purpose "Now hand over the emerald!".

"Never! Not in a million years, bat-girl!" replied Knuckles.

"I'm called Rouge the Bat!" said the bat angrily "I'm warning you! Hand over the gem or you'll be sorry".

"Sorry? If your meaning you will attack me, you must be mad!" laughed Knuckles, folding his arms and looking away "You cannot possibly stand up to a martial art expert like me!".

Knuckles then opened his eyes and gasped. Dr. Eggman was lifting the Master Emerald up into the air with his hovercraft.

"I was looking for a Chaos Emerald, but I suppose I can use the Master Emerald for something…" said Eggman, and began to fly off. Knuckles thought fast. He sprinted after the fleeing doctor, leapt upwards underneath the Master Emerald, and with his spiked fist, he slammed right through the giant green gem, shattering it to pieces. The fragments disappeared within seconds. Eggman shrugged, not disturbed by the sudden event.

"Oh well…" said Eggman and flew away into the sky.

Rouge, however, didn't take it to well. She seized Knuckles by the chest screaming with rage.

"Why did you do that you dreadlocked dummy!" screamed Rouge, shaking Knuckles like a baby shaking a rattle.

"I'd rather have the emerald in pieces than have Eggman steal it" replied Knuckles "And besides, the Master Emerald can be rebuilt".

"Fine! I shall find the pieces of the Master Emerald, rebuild it and claim it as my own!" declared Rouge.

"Tough break! I have a sixth sense, which allows me to locate the Master Emerald pieces…" said Knuckles.

"Is that so, I have the same ability" snickered Rouge delightfully. Knuckles was in shock, as Rouge spread her black wings and flew away, eastward.

Knuckles glided westward and landed safely in a crevice of a canyon. He could already sense three pieces of the Master Emerald. So he took up a wall, his fists digging into the cliff and he went upwards. He edged along it going to right. The first fragment was large and was imbedded in the ground on a high cliffledge. Knuckles pulled it out and placed it in a secret pocket in his side.

Rouge had landed a few miles from where Knuckles was. She had landed in a small area named Dry Lagoon, but despite its name, Dry Lagoon was actually a very damp region. Rouge looked around eagerly.

"Now where could those emerald pieces be hiding?" she asked aloud. Rouge then heard a crying noise and she saw a large turtle sitting on the grass, tears in its eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Rouge, approaching the turtle. The turtle sadly looked up at her and then looked towards its shell. Rouge gasped. There was a piece of the master emerald, the sharp end inserted into the turtle's shell.

"Oh my!" shouted Rouge "Hang on! I'll get that beauty out!". Rouge placed her hands firmly on the shining emerald fragment and pulled hard at the piece. After several minutes of frustrating pulls and mad cries of pain from the turtle, Rouge managed to successfully pull the fragment from its spot.

"There you go little fella" said Rouge "Off you go!". The turtle was grateful and it pulled itself to a small pool of water and disappeared underwater.

As for Knuckles, he had discovered another fragment, which was no bigger than his thumb.

"Now where could that other fragment be?" asked Knuckles. His senses managed to pick up a far away signal of a Master Emerald piece. "Well, at least I know it's still around" sighed Knuckles and jumped off the ledge he was on, glided down the canyon and arrived in a small area, with a giant stone head buried in the sand.

"Whoa! The signal is very close" said Knuckles. Then he saw it! The third emerald shard was stuck in a crack in the stone head. It looked like it was in very, very deep. Knuckles took several steps back and then charged forwards in a ferocious speed, his fist leading the run. Within seconds, Knuckles slammed his fist into the crack where the emerald piece was, and the whole head was covered in cracks and fell apart. Knuckles picked up the green emerald piece from the rubble and smiled.

He then tried to sense anymore fragments, but none responded.

Rouge also has managed to successfully find all the shards. "Piece of cake! Hmmm…Maybe I should go and do my mission now" said Rouge, and she spread her wings and flew away into the air.

Is Rouge more then a treasure hunter?

**Chapter 3: City Escape**

Above the Capital City, at about 13:27, a black military helicopter flew at a slow speed. Imprinted on the side of the helicopter were the initials "G.U.N".

"Alpha-sigma to delta-gamma. We have the hedgehog on board. Please confirm permission for us to return to the base. Over!" said the helicopter's pilot.

"Roger that alpha, confirmation…er…confirmed" replied a man.

"Right…anyway, how is your wife? Is she still eating soap and…What?" said the pilot, but was suddenly cut off.

"What is wrong?" shouted the second man.

"The hedgehog! He's taken everyone out on board!" replied the pilot.

At that moment the helicopter door was kicked open and out of the flying vehicle came Sonic the Hedgehog. He jumped to one of the wing and ripped a metal plate of it.

"Halt! What are you doing!" shouted a man, holding a gun. Sonic looked at him and smirked.

"No food or in-flight on movies! I'm out of here!" said Sonic and jumped off the helicopter, using the metal plate as an airboard. He went spinning down to the capital city. Within seconds, Sonic landed onto a steep downhill road in the middle of the city. He dashed down the road on his board, which is now a street-board; sparks flying from the metal connecting with the hard stone. Sonic looked around at his surroundings as he went past them. It was basically your average streets: Houses, cars, lampposts, fire hydrants, letterboxes, etc.

"Why are all these cities trying to look like San Fransisco!" complained Sonic. Sonic's ears were erupted by the sound of sirens. Sonic knew his old pals; the policemen, were chasing him again. Sonic ditched his street-board and ran on foot, now getting way ahead of the cops. Sonic became a blue blur, travelling at over 700 mph. As he went, Sonic smirked.

"This cool…" cheered Sonic.

As Sonic ran on, he suddenly broke into song:

"Rolling around at the speed of sound,

Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow.

Can't stick around, have to keep moving on,

Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out!

Must keep on moving ahead,

No time for guessing, follow my plan instead.

Trusting in what you can't see,

Take my lead I'll set you free.

Follow me, set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through, follow me.

Follow me, set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through prove it to you.

Follow me!

Oh yeah!

Danger is lurking around every turn,

Trust your feelings, got to live and learn.

I know with some luck that I'll make it through,

Got no other options, only one thing to do!

I don't care what lies ahead,

No time for guessing, follow my plan instead.

Find the next stage, no matter what that may be.

Take my lead, I'll set you free.

Follow me, set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through, follow me.

Follow me, set me free,

Trust me and we will escape from the city.

I'll make it through prove it to you.

Follow me!

Follow me!"

As Sonic finished his singing, there was a loud rumble and from a road came a giant black lorry, with G.U.N written under the windscreen. Sonic sped away down the road, and the truck followed, as if it was a cat chasing a mouse. Sonic charged down a long downhill road, the truck just inches behind him. Sonic attempted to abandon the chasing lorry by doing sudden and unexpected turns and rushing down thin alleyways. But wherever Sonic went, the black lorry was following him like a magnet. Sonic then passed under a small archway and carried on running. He then suddenly heard a crash and the sound of falling metal. He skidded to a halt and turned around, to see the black lorry stuck underneath the low archway, the roof crumbled and the windscreen cracked from a falling brick.

Sonic smirked and stood triumphantly before the lorry.

"Ha! If you want to outrun me, I suggest you take jogging and driving lessons!" said Sonic and he raced away.

Meanwhile, Eggman stood outside a giant pyramid that stood in a quick sand desert.

"Those fools from the military will never find my new base inside this pyramid" laughed Eggman. Eggman entered the base in his Egg Walker. He walked down a long corridor, with hieroglyphics on the walls, all designed after Eggman. Eggman then entered a small round room with a large computer console and several video screens. Standing beside the console, was a robot. He had a blue titanium body and a large head that had three spikes lancing out in different directions. He had a black visor, with blood red eyes that stared at Eggman evilly.

"Greetings, Dr. Eggman" said the robot.

"Hello Metal Sonic" said Eggman "Did you find anymore Chaos Emeralds?".

"Negative!" replied Metal Sonic "But I believe this recorded news report might interest you…".

Metal Sonic hit a button on the console and one of the fuzzy screens flashed on and played a news report.

"Earlier this evening, a local jewellery store in Capital City was broke into and the Chaos Emerald was stolen by the world hero, Sonic the Hedgehog. Military personal and police officers are searching for Sonic now and will take him for questioning…if he is caught" said a news reporter.

The news report then showed a photo of a shadowed hedgehog. Eggman, however, noticed that it wasn't Sonic, but Shadow!

Meanwhile, Shadow stood on a big, red arch on a bridge that resembled the Golden Gate Bridge. Police officers stood miles below, looking up at the black hedgehog.

"Freeze! Drop the emerald and put your hands on your head" said a policeman through a megaphone. Shadow ignored the calls of the policeman and looked up to a certain bright star in the night sky.

He suddenly had a flashback:

Shadow was trapped in a clear glass tube, his hands pressed against the glass, his mouth agape. On the other side of the room he was in, was a frail girl with blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. She wore blue clothes, and she sat by a computer console.

"Shadow…for all the people in the world…give them a chance…" whispered the girl. There was a splodge of blood on his blue shirt.

"Maria!" cried Shadow from within the tube.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog" cried the girl named Maria, and she hit a button.

"Maria! No!" shouted Shadow, as the tube vanished.

Shadow returned to reality, the image of Maria floating in his mind's eye.

"I will do as Maria said!" said Shadow "For the people of the world, I promise you, Maria…revenge!".

Back to Sonic, he found himself in a small back street with large crates. Sonic was bored.

"This game of tag is boring…" said Sonic. He suddenly noticed a giant green machine flying down towards, Sonic firing missiles at him. Sonic somersaulted out of the way as the missiles headed for him. The machine landed.

"F-6t Big Foot, come in! Target sighted! Preparing to capture!" said the pilot of the machine. Big Foot rose into the air, just as it had landed and continued to fire missiles at Sonic. Sonic swiftly dodge with help from another somersault and leapt at Big Foot. In mid jump, Sonic transformed into a rolling ball and used his Homing Attack on Big Foot, ripping right through its metal frame and defeating it. Big Foot burst into flames and fell to the ground. Sonic walked away, grinning. He slowly turned around to look back at the remains of Big Foot and then gasped with amazement.

"What?" cried Sonic.

Standing on the flaming Big Foot, was Shadow, his arms folded.

"Who are you?" asked Sonic to Shadow. Shadow unfolded his arms and revealed to have the green Chaos Emerald.

"So it all starts with this…a jewel that contains the ultimate power!" said Shadow, holding the emerald up to sky as if it were some sort of god.

"That is a…Chaos Emerald!" cried Sonic. "I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the world's ultimate lifeform!" said Shadow, grinning.

"Wait a minute! You're that hedgehog who framed me of being a criminal, and now your military buddies are chasing me!" shouted Sonic.

Shadow ignored him. Sonic grew angry and dashed at Shadow. "Say something! You fake hedgehog!" said Sonic. Shadow smiled, threw the Chaos Emerald into the air, caught it and then held it in front of his face, striking a pose in the process.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" shouted Shadow, his voice echoing. Green energy suddenly spluttered from the Chaos Emerald and time began to slow down. Shadow jumped off Big Foot and ran past Sonic, who was still running towards Big Foot, completely oblivious to Shadow's movements. Chaos Control ended and Sonic stopped, realising Shadow was gone. Sonic spotted Shadow standing on a high building.

"Whoa! He's fast!" said Sonic "Wait…he didn't use his speed!".

Sonic then eyed the green gem within Shadow's right hand, and a thought suddenly came to his mind.

"You used the Chaos Emerald to warp, didn't you?" questioned Sonic.

Shadow watched Sonic with his burning red eyes. He flipped the emerald up and down in the air, while catching it.

"You are correct, but there is no time for games. Farewell!" said Shadow, and with a flash from the Chaos Emerald, he was gone.

"Shadow…just what is he?" said Sonic curiously, when suddenly the blurring sound of sirens burst into Sonic's ears. Spotlights flashed on and Sonic found himself surrounded and trapped by armed military troops, policemen and their cars and several helicopters.

"Freeze! Keep your hands high above your head!" cried a soldier.

"Oh great! What will I do now!" moaned Sonic.


	2. Good and Dark On Prison Island

Previously on Sonic Adventure 2:

Dr. Eggman broke into a military base, searching for a top secret weapon that his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, had created. Eggman found the weapon which turned out of be a hedgehog, identical to Sonic, named Shadow, who claimed himself to be the Ultimate Lifeform. After defeating a guard robot, Shadow tells Eggman to bring more Chaos Emeralds to the Space Colony ARK and walks away. Knuckles and Rouge fight over the Master Emerald, but Eggman attempts to steal it for his own diabolical needs. Knuckles doesn't allow that and shatters the Master Emerald. Knuckles and Rouge go and find their own emerald fragments, and Rouge flies off to do some sort of mission. Sonic is being held captive in a military helicopter, but he escapes and flees his chasers in the Capital City. After battling against a robot named Big Foot, Sonic meets Shadow who uses Chaos Control to escape, just as the military arrive.

What happens next?

**Sonic Adventure 2**

**Chapter 4: Gathering of the Dark**

Rouge successfully managed to bust into Eggman's pyramid base. The devious doctor and his partner, Metal Sonic were no where within the base, so Rouge could walk around as she pleased. The only threat was the large golden scarab robot, which functioned as a guard. Rouge easily sneaked past the robot by staying in the shadows. She ran into the control room and hacked into the computer's systems.

Rouge studied the strange device that stood behind her. She typed in some commands into the computer and some information appeared on the main screen.

"It is a space transporter…destination: ARK?" said Rouge "Wasn't that space colony shut down 50 years ago?".

Rouge then thought. Why would Eggman go to the ARK for? One thing was for sure, she had to find out.

"It doesn't matter what Eggman is doing up there, because I'm going to find out for myself!" declared Rouge, stepping onto the transporter, before vanishing in an electrical ring of light.

Eggman was already on board the Space Colony ARK, with Metal Sonic. Eggman looked around in awe, despite the fact that it was very dark.

"So this is the Space Colony ARK that Shadow was on about and the home of my grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, and my cousin Maria" said Eggman. Metal Sonic stared up at his moustached master.

"You told me, that Shadow told you to go to the central control room…" said Metal Sonic.

"Yes, but where in the world is it?" asked Eggman.

"I can take you there!" said a voice. Eggman and Metal Sonic looked around sharply.

"Who is there!" shouted Eggman.

"Only me" replied the voice.

"But who are you?" said Eggman. Out of the shadows flew a strange toy that resembled a metallic Chao. It had curly yellow eyes and a propeller on its head, keeping it hovering in the air like a moth.

"Hi, I'm Omochao! Did you know that this space colony was shut down 50 years ago and all that is left is the guard robots" said the robotic Chao.

"Thanks for the history lesson, but we don't have time. You said you knew where the central control room is, take us there!" demanded Eggman.

"Alright" replied Omochao and flew down a metal corridor, Eggman and Metal Sonic quickly following. Omochao led the two villains through a labyrinth of metal corridors. Eggman was getting bored, so he and Metal Sonic began to play eye-spy.

"Okay, eye-spy with my eye…something beginning with…M!" said Eggman.

"Me?" said Metal Sonic.

"No" replied Eggman.

"Metal Sonic?" said Metal Sonic.

"You must be joking!" laughed Eggman.

"Metal?" said Metal Sonic.

"Correct…" sighed Eggman. Metal Sonic had won every round some far, while Eggman had won none.

Omochao suddenly stopped and Eggman halted behind him. "Why have we stopped, Omochao?" cried Eggman.

"Er…well I think I might have taken a wrong turn…" said Omochao.  
"What!" bellowed Metal Sonic and seized the toy Chao and shook him furiously.

"Ouch! You hurt me! I am not helping you anymore!" shrieked Omochao, and sat on the floor, his backed turned.

"Fine, suit yourself" said Eggman and he walked away down a corridor, Metal Sonic following.

Eventually, Eggman and Metal Sonic reached the central control room: A large circular room with an odd machine breathing in and out like a set of lungs. There was a short walkway across the room, which led to a large computer, where Shadow stood. Above the computer was a grid that had seven slots in it; two filled by the grey and green Chaos Emeralds.

"I have been waiting for you doctor" said Shadow, smirking, then he noticed Metal Sonic and let out a chuckle. Metal Sonic's metal hand clenched into a fist. Eggman clambered out of his Egg Walker and slowly walked towards Shadow and then stopped.

"I believe you've got some explaining to do, Shadow!" said Eggman.

"Oh course" said Shadow.

"Well…" said Eggman impatiently. Metal Sonic rolled his eyes.

"The ARK was the first space colony built by humans. Not many people knew it was secretly a research facility for building weapons of mass destruction. One weapon is right here, behold the Eclipse Cannon! It is capable of destroying an entire planet!" explained Shadow to his friend.

"Destroy an entire planet! Was this my grandfather's legacy…?" said Eggman uncertain.

"However, the Eclipse Cannon is inactive at the moment, and needs a great deal of energy to get its power back" said Shadow "But, if we gather all seven of the Chaos Emerald, we can have total power over the Eclipse Cannon, and with the cannon and the Space Colony ARK, the world could…be yours!".

Eggman laughed menacingly at Shadow's plan. "Hahahaha! I like how you think Shadow!" laughed Eggman "I can gather the Chaos Emerald, power up the Eclipse Cannon and use it as a threat to Earth, they will panic and then surrender to me, and then the world will be mine!".

"Do you really think it will be that simple?" said a female voice.

Eggman, Shadow and Metal Sonic looked up to the ceiling, and spotted Rouge hanging upside-down from a metal rafter. She had sneaked onto the ARK several minutes after Eggman had gone off with Omochao. She had also found the Blue Chaos Emerald in the process. Rouge jumped down from the ceiling and landed between Shadow and Eggman.

"Do you think that collecting the remaining four Chaos Emeralds will be a walk in the park?" Rouge asked Eggman. "Well…er…" said Eggman.

"Well, I may be able to help you boys. I am an expert treasure hunter and I have a hunch at where the other Chaos Emeralds are. But I need your Emerald Radar to be certain!" said Rouge.

Eggman glanced at Shadow, who smiled and nodded. Eggman looked at Rouge and grinned.

"Very well, you're on the team…Miss…er…" said Eggman.

"Just call me Rouge" said Rouge and revealed the Blue Chaos Emerald and handed it to Shadow, who slam dunked the emerald into the grid with its brothers.

"So, Rouge. Where do you believe the other emeralds are?" asked Shadow suspiciously.

"Well…" said Rouge.

**Chapter 5: Rescuing Sonic and Hunt For The Chaos Emeralds **

The morning had dawned on the world, and our quartet of villains had left the Space Colony ARK and had landed on Prison Island, a highly guarded island that was a bit like Alcatraz. It was G.U.N.'s headquarters.

Eggman, Shadow, Rouge and Metal Sonic stood by the coast, just on the edge of the island's giant tropical jungle.

"I do not think being back on this annoying island is my idea of a vacation" complained Eggman. He turned to Rouge, who stood on his left.

"Are you sure your co-ordinates are correct?" he asked Rouge.

"Believe what you want! I think their right and that is all that matters!" replied Rouge angrily.

"Very well. Let's talk strategy: I and Metal Sonic will go in first and distract the troop, and also wreak havoc…anyway, once I am done, Rouge will break into the giant room with all the laserbeams where the vault is and locate the Chaos Emeralds. Meanwhile, Shadow will run into the armoury and place these dynamite packs. After thirty minutes, the bombs with go off and the entire island will blow up without anyone knowing what hit them!" explained Eggman and handed Shadow three square packs that said Eggman Bombom on them.

"I'm counting on you two! Do not fail me!" commanded Eggman and he and Metal Sonic marched away. Shadow ran into the jungle, while Rouge spread her wings and flew off towards the centre of the island.

Eggman and Metal Sonic ran through the metal harbours of the island, screaming the cry of war, blasting all the enemy robots that came there way. Eggman destroyed a series of immobile hunter robots and also took out parked fighter jets and small satellites. Metal Sonic busted into storage rooms along the harbours. He found nothing of interest, except one weird looking cannon.

"What have you found Metal Sonic?" asked Eggman, strolling over to his creation.

"This strange cannon. It may be useful to your walker!" said Metal Sonic. Eggman and Metal Sonic built the cannon onto the walker and programmed it in. Rouge and Shadow suddenly walked up.

"Doctor, there are guards everywhere, we cannot go anywhere" said Shadow.

"Rubbish! With the combined power of us four, we can easily bring down these idiots!" said Eggman.

The villains were about to move on when they heard a shout of delight.

"Sonic! I've found you!" said a female voice and Amy Rose suddenly appeared out of no where and latched her arms around Shadow's waste. Shadow was not aroused, and just turned his head to look at Amy.

Amy then opened her eyes and realised Shadow was not Sonic.

"Wait! You're not Sonic!" cried Amy, backing away from Shadow. "What are you doing here?" snapped Eggman.

"Eggman! AAAHHHH!" screamed Amy and ran away screaming. Eggman walked after Amy, and then turned to his comrades.

"Go! I shall deal with Amy" said Eggman "If she blabs to Sonic, we are screwed!".

Shadow and Rouge nodded and they ran away, closely followed by Metal Sonic.

Eggman had Amy cornered between himself and the ocean. "You are in deep trouble Amy, and there is no one here to save you!" laughed Eggman. "Want a bet!" shouted a voice and from the sky dropped Tails, sitting in his Cyclone, a walker like Eggman's.

"Tails!" shouted Eggman.

"You're going down Eggman!" shouted Tails and prepared to fire at Eggman. He missed and Eggman fired bullets at him. Tails was hit, but that did not stop him. He fired a large laser blast at Eggman and it sent the doctor sailing across the harbour. Eggman then slowly got up and began to walk away.

"You won this round, foxboy, but next time, you won't be so lucky!" warned Eggman and he was gone.

Amy ran up to her hero, Tails. "Wow, thanks Tails, but what are you doing here?" asked Amy.

"I'm the one who should be asking you! What are you doing here?" asked Tails suddenly.

"What do you think? I'm here to save my hero, Sonic" explained Amy happily.

Tails breathed a sigh in exasperation. "Alright Amy, you stay here, I'm going to save Sonic" said Tails and he was off like a shot.

"Hey! Wait up Tails!" cried Amy and ran off after the fox.

Rouge was in a large security hall full of security lasers, guard robots and metal traps. G.U.N was very touchy about being robbed. Rouge looked dumbfounded at the emerald radar in her palm. There were three signals, each from one Chaos Emerald. Shadow suddenly spoke up on Rouge's communicator device which she wore on her glove.

"I'm in position, doctor" said Shadow "How is it at your end?".

"I am in a bit of a delay, you go and plant those bombs and get off the island" replied Eggman "Rouge! Have you found the Chaos Emeralds yet?".

"I've got a signal from three of the emeralds. One is locked in the giant vault you were talking about, but the other two are scattered around this security hall I'm in" said Rouge.

"Fine, but be quick, you have about five minutes for you to find the emeralds, before the military troops start their own rounds. We have only got fifteen minutes left anyway!" said Eggman.

Rouge took off and began circling the hall like a vulture. The first emerald, which was the red one, was pretty easy to find. Some idiot had attempted to hide it away from the world, by putting it inside a wooden box on a high support beam. Rouge kicked open the box and took her prize. The Red Chaos Emerald controlled the power of fire, but it was not hot at the moment. Each Chaos Emerald had its own power:

The Red Chaos Emerald could turn very hot and sometimes launch fire.

The Blue Chaos Emerald could create water and allow a user to breathe underwater.

The Green Chaos Emerald was closest to the Master Emerald and was the easiest to neutralise.

The Grey Chaos Emerald can create ice and snow and also can make the red emerald cold.

The Purple Chaos Emerald could fire electricity and make thunderstorms.

The Light Blue Chaos Emerald could manipulate light and sometimes dark.

The Yellow Chaos Emerald could create earthquakes and landslides.

The Master Emerald is the master of the Chaos Emeralds and neutralises their powers.

Rouge flew on, looking at the radar every now and again. She had 3:47 minutes left, plenty of time. Rouge landed by a wall and stared up in awe at all the small safes that went up the walls. Rouge looked down at the radar and it indicated the second emerald was in a safe just five stories above her. Rouge climbed up and eventually discovered the purple Chaos Emerald. Thankfully, Rouge did not get fried when small lightning bolts flew from the purple gem, but one bolt struck a guard robot and destroyed it.

Rouge looked around for the giant vault, where the sixth Chaos Emerald.

"Well, where is it?" she demanded to herself.

Sonic stood in his prison cell, stretching him limbs, when he heard a clattering sound and from a ventilation shaft came Amy, Pico Pico Hammer in hand.

"Amy!" shouted Sonic in amazement.

"Ssshhh…" whispered Amy to her hero "Have no fear, Amy Rose is here!".

"What are you doing here?" asked Sonic, who was not really thrilled to see Amy.

"I came to rescue of course!" snapped Amy "But if you want to know, I hitched a ride with Tails".

"Hmmm…Well I've definitely been framed by that Shadow guy!" said Sonic.

"You mean that black hedgehog?" asked Amy. Sonic looked at Amy suddenly and rushed up to the prison bars.

"You've seen him, where is he?" demanded Sonic.

"He came with Dr. Eggman" said Amy "I'll only tell you more if you marry me!".

"No way!" snorted Sonic.

"Oh! I thought I had you this time!" muttered Amy, raising her hammer. She suddenly slammed it forward and smashed through the bars of Sonic's cell. Sonic exited his cell, brushing his fur. Amy then noticed tons of writing on the cells on the wall.

"Did you do all that writing?" asked Amy to Sonic, but she then realised Sonic had ran off.

"Oh! He is such a brat sometimes…" growled Amy and dashed off to look for Sonic. Seconds after Amy left, Tails arrived and was amazed to see the cell door destroyed.

"How? What? Who? When?" Tails asked bewildered.

Sonic was tearing up a metal harbour, similar the one Eggman was on. Sonic was going at 900 mph, the only thought in his head was finding Shadow and getting some answers. He spotted a G.U.N rocket in the distance. It was about to take off. Sonic leapt across a gap and ran up the vertical stairs to the rocket. Just as flames roared from its rear end, Sonic jumped onto the side of the rocket and it took off into the sky.

The rocket quickly vanished into the clouds, the blue hedgehog clinging to it for dear life. Sonic then let go of the rocket and flew back down towards the island's jungle.

"I'm coming for you Shadow…" thought Sonic.

**Chapter 6: A Whole Lot Of Trouble**

Rouge found the giant vault and saw the light blue Chaos Emerald lying in the middle of the room. Rouge simply walked over to it and picked it up. Then the door to the vault automatically slammed shut and red alarms blared madly. Rouge looked around and saw a small green and black machine, similar to Big Foot and Hot Shot.

"Flying Dog to head security, infiltrated spotted, I will destroy her" said the pilot of the machine. The Flying Dog then flew at Rouge, who dived to the ground as the machine flew by. It swung around and fired missiles at Rouge. Rouge then front-flipped into the air, landed on the cockpit of the Flying Dog, ripped off the windscreen and knocked out the pilot. Rouge flew out of the way, as the Flying Dog flew in a crooked path before flying into the floor and exploding. Rouge sighed, then she remembered the vault door was shut and there was only about 6 minutes until the bombs went off. What was Rouge going to do?

Shadow was slowly walking through the jungle, looking around at all the greenery. The only thing was, that it was a rainforest he was in, and it was bucketing it down with rain. The intercom suddenly rang and Shadow answered it.

"What?" grumbled Shadow.

"Shadow! I've gotten myself stuck in this vault with the Chaos Emeralds. I guess I can't call myself a treasure hunter anymore…" spoke Rouge. Shadow rolled his eyes in frustration.

"Shadow, please help me!" pleaded Rouge.

Shadow then had a flashback of his friend, Maria. His mind flashed between the blonde haired girl he loved, and the white bat whom had the precious Chaos Emeralds. Shadow decided it would be best to go and save Rouge, because she had the Chaos Emeralds.

"Troublemaker…" cursed Shadow and he ran through the bracken of the jungle.

Sonic was also running through the jungle, searching for Tails and Amy, as well as Shadow. He then came into a clearing which he realised led out onto a hidden lake. Sonic then looked up at the small tree before him. Then he saw what he was looking, Shadow the Hedgehog, who stood on a large branch, looking for a way to go himself.

"You!" shouted Sonic. Shadow swung around and immediately scowled at the blue hedgehog.

"That blue hedgehog again, of all places!" said Shadow angrily.

"You! I can't believe you think you can get away with being my fake copy!" said Sonic.

"Fake? Me? Ha! You're the fake! In fact, you are not good enough to be my fake!" laughed Shadow.

"I'll make you eat those words!" snapped Sonic and waited for Shadow to jump down from the tree.

Shadow leapt at Sonic, who did likewise, each performing the Homing Attack. The two just bounced off eachother like basketballs. The two fell to the grass, and Shadow immediately performed a somersault, which knocked Sonic of his feet and into the tree. Sonic then curled up into a ball and dashed at Shadow, who was thrown off his feet by the sudden attack. Shadow landed and retaliated with another Homing Attack. Sonic dodged it, but Shadow was quicker than he had suspected and struck Sonic down with another Homing Attack. Sonic had had enough. He backed off and then rocketed forwards with such a force, it created shockwaves. Sonic collided with Shadow, and the blue and black hedgehogs were flung through the trees. Seconds later, Sonic and Shadow were breathing heavily, staring into eachother's eyes in a glooming staring contest. Eggman on the intercom broke the silence.

"Shadow! What are you doing? Get off the island before it blows up with you on it!" shouted Eggman.

"BLOWS UP!" shouted Sonic was shock.

Shadow worryingly looked around and dashed off. Sonic went off in the other direction. He eventually found Tails and Amy, who were both glad to see their friend. Tails started up the Tornado, which was also the Cyclone, when it was in air mode. Sonic jumped onto the back of the plane and it took off and away from Prison Island.

As for Rouge, she was surprised to see Shadow appear into the vault and run towards her at top speed.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" shouted Shadow and he, Rouge and the Chaos Emerald vanished in a flash of light, just as the bombs struck 0:00. The entire island began to blew up, from the metal harbours, to the centre of the island. The whole island exploded into flames, creating a small tidal wave in the ocean.

Knuckles was in a spooky mountainous region, locating three more emerald shards. He had already found two emerald shards; one buried in front of a gravestone on Church Mountain, and the other cleverly hidden in a field of pumpkins.

"Where could the other shard be?" asked Knuckles. As he scanned the eerie Pumpkin Hill, and then spotted another mountain with a train circling around it. The emerald signal was coming from that direction.

"There!" said Knuckles and glided across the cloudy ravine below and landed on the mountain, known as Ghost Train Mountain. Knuckles searched for the emerald piece, but couldn't find it.

Knuckles then jumped onto a railway line. He suddenly heard the sound of a tooting train horn and around the corner came a transparent train, wraiths flying out of the smoke funnel. Knuckles gasped and closed his eyes, believing the train would hit him. However, after several seconds, Knuckles opened an eye and saw the train had disappeared, and in his hand was the third emerald shard.

"Yes!" cheered Knuckles.

Knuckles then sensed a few more emerald shards to the East, but he also sensed they were hidden deep underground.

"The shards must be in the old mines. But, I thought that mine was flooded!" said Knuckles, but then he straightened up and glared.

"No matter, I've got to find the Master Emerald pieces. Aquatic Mine! Here I come!".


	3. Day X: Hunt For Eggman

Previously on Sonic Adventure 2:

Rouge infiltrates Eggman's pyramid base and finds out where the doctor is: The Space Colony ARK. Eggman is already at the ARK with Metal Sonic, where they meet Omochao, a very annoying toy Chao. After ditching Omochao, Eggman finds Shadow in the central control room. Shadow reveals to Captain Moustache that the ARK was secretly used to create weapons of mass destruction, and one of them was the Eclipse Cannon, a highly powerful weapon which could destroy a planet! Shadow then explains that the cannon requires the Chaos Emeralds to have the ultimate power. Eggman realises he could use the cannon to conquer the world. Rouge suddenly appears and says she will help Eggman and Shadow. Metal Sonic helps too. The villains go to Prison Island where Rouge thinks the Chaos Emeralds. Eggman also plans to destroy the island with bombs. Amy Rose suddenly appears and hugs Shadow, thinking he is Sonic. She then is confronted by Eggman, but Tails appears and defeats Eggman. Rouge breaks into the main building of the island and finds three Chaos Emeralds. Amy finds Sonic and tells him she saw Shadow. Amy releases Sonic and he runs off searching for Shadow. Sonic finds Shadow, who is going to save Rouge who is trapped in a giant vault. The two hedgehogs fight and then Eggman interrupts, telling Shadow to find Rouge and get off the island before it blows up. Sonic departs with Tails and Amy, while Shadow finds Rouge and they escape the destruction of Prison Island by using Chaos Control. Meanwhile, Knuckles is in Pumpkin Hill finding Master Emerald pieces. After finding some more shards he senses some more in the Aquatic Mine and heads off in it's direction. The time has come for Eggman: It's Day X!

**Chapter 7: The Last Chaos Emerald! Day X! **

Shadow stood next to Maria on the ARK, looking down at the giant blue and green ball below them known as Earth. Maria stopped gazing at the world and looked across to her black and red hedgehog friend.

"Shadow, what do you think it is like down on Earth?" Maria asked.

"Professor Gerald said all his research is for the people on that planet. He said his desire is to make the people of the world happy through the power of science" said Shadow. He turned to Maria, who looked back with her ocean blue eyes.

"Maria…I do wonder why I was created. Maybe if I went down to that planet, I may find out" said Shadow. Shadow then took Maria's hand in his and they stared at eachother, smiling with happiness.

"Why so melancholy?" asked Rouge, interrupting Shadow's flashback.

Shadow didn't look at Rouge, but just stared down at Earth.

"Shadow, why did you rescue me?" asked Rouge "I mean, you're not really the type to rescue girls".

"I didn't rescue you because you're a girl" insisted Shadow "I came back to get the Chaos Emeralds…".

"Yeah…whatever!" said Rouge. The two were interrupted by the arrival of Eggman.

"Everything is ago! So let's move!" said Eggman.

"We only have six Chaos Emeralds, in case you had forgotten" replied Rouge.

Shadow smirked and walked across the room towards the door, moving past Eggman.

"That is more than enough for the demonstration…well, let's get this show on the road!" said Shadow. Eggman quickly followed after Shadow.

**DAY X—18.00 **

Eggman decided to announce his plan to world, so at exactly 18.00, Eggman took control of the world's entire communications (televisions, radios, etc.). He stood in a blue virtual world, probably thanks to a simulator; words like "I Am The Eggman!" and "Eggman Empire". Funky music played in the background, as all eyes noticed the moustached villains' announcement.

"Citizens of Earth, lend me your ears and listen to me! My name is Dr. Eggman, the world's greatest scientist, and soon to be the world's greatest ruler!" declared Eggman "Now listen carefully, I will begin the start of the greatest empire of all time: The Eggman Empire!".

As he spoke those words a sudden flicker of a weird blue light deep in space caught the world's attention. A large meteor that was orbiting Earth was suddenly highlighted by an eerie blue glow. Half of it suddenly exploded, revealing the Space Colony ARK. Six large metal sections opened up and stretched outwards, revealing the ARK to be shaped like Eggman's face. The pointed nose on the ARK suddenly opened up with a similar blue light. A giant energy beam formed within the open nose and then it was fired, across space, going almost as fast as Sonic. The people of the world watched in amazement as the blue beam flew across the sky like an abnormal rainbow. The beam then collided with the moon and ripped through its surface, sending rocks flying. The beam eventually faded away, but it didn't leave with out destroying half of the moon, the inside of the Earth's official satellite glowing red from the blast. The people of the world were in terror, but no one had noticed a giant red and white clock appear on all the television screens. It read:

Cannon Countdown: 23:58.

Back on the ARK, Eggman was having a fit. Rouge walked up to him, her eyebrows raised. Shadow watched from a distance, Metal Sonic beside him.

"What's your problem?" asked Rouge "Your message caused chaos on the planet, and I think we own the planet, and should go and do as we please".

"Tough break Rouge, but our threats fell on deaf ears!" countered Shadow.

"And what about your end of our bargain, bat-girl!" snapped Eggman "Where is the final Chaos Emerald!".

"Well, I do not know! Okay!" shouted Rouge.

"Maybe this will answer your question, master" said Metal Sonic, speeding over to Eggman and revealing an old newspaper article from1999.

"What is this?" asked Eggman. He eagerly read the newspaper:

_Station Square was saved from a life threatening missile attack this evening. The missile was deactivated by Miles "Tails" Prower, a young fox who can fly. Minutes after the missile was stopped, Dr. Eggman appeared in the casino region in one of his deadly machines. Miles Prower took on Dr. Eggman and defeated him. The city praised the hero and gave him the city's treasure: A Chaos Emerald. A ceremony was then held at city hall for the fox, who said he helped with the downfall of the Egg Carrier. _

"Hmmm…this makes things a whole lot easier!" chortled Eggman excitedly.

"It is?" asked Rouge.

"Yes, all we need to do is track down Tails and steal the final Chaos Emerald!" announced Eggman.

Eggman then walked away grinning. Metal Sonic followed and then Shadow left. Rouge was left in the control room by herself. She suddenly whisked out an intercom.

"This is Rouge. I've discovered out where the final Chaos Emerald is. Eggman is going to find it. And I am not sure whether Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform or not…" said Rouge to an unknown person.

She then left the room, not noticing the peculiar puddle of water, stuck to the ceiling. The puddle then fell to the floor and materialized into a weird humanoid creature. It had two horns coming out of the back of its head, and two glowing green eyes. It also had a pink brain floating in its head. It was completely made from water. This was Chaos, Guardian of the Chao. Chaos had once gone insane after Knuckles' ancestors killed the Chao. He stole all seven Chaos Emeralds and became Perfect Chaos and destroyed Station Square. Super Sonic managed to calm Chaos down and when he saw the Chao were thriving with life, Chaos became good. But what was he doing on the ARK?

Behind Chaos came a floating and small peachy coloured light. It transformed into Tikal, a young, but spiritual echidna princess who was alive when Chaos destroyed the Echidna Empire. She helped Sonic revive Chaos and the two have been friends since.

"Chaos…I will go and assist Knuckles and the others with their mission. You spy on Eggman" said Tikal, before vanishing in a flash of light. Chaos looked towards the cannon and spotted the Chaos Emeralds. A feeling in his head was telling him to go and take the emeralds, but another was telling not to. Chaos listened to the second thought and he melted into a puddle and seeped away into the metal floor.

Back on Earth, Sonic, Tails and Amy hid in an alleyway, looking up into the sky. Amy pointed to the fully half moon.

"Look! Half the moon is gone!" screamed Amy totally flabbergasted.

"But, how could have Eggman got that much power?" asked Tails.

"It has got to be the Chaos Emeralds" said Sonic "Yeah! That must be why he was after them!".

Tails suddenly disappeared into the Cyclone and came out with the yellow Chaos Emerald.

"Tails?" gasped Sonic is disbelief. Where in the world did Tails get the Chaos Emerald from? If only Sonic actually read the newspaper, he would know.

"The Chaos Emeralds are magnetically attracted to eachother. So, we can use this yellow gem to locate the other six, meaning…" said Tails and looked down at Sonic from the Cyclone. Sonic just cocked his head in confusion. Tails threw out his arms in irritation.

"Amy!" said Tails.

"We find Eggman! I can't believe you didn't know that Sonic!" shrieked Amy.

Suddenly, the police showed up. Police cars and helicopters appeared like locust and surrounded the three fugitives.

"Halt! Stop! Desist!" shouted a policeman, holding a gun.

Tails and Amy slowly raised their hands, the Chaos Emerald still in Tails' hand. Sonic, however, was fed up of being told to freeze and putting his hands in the air.

"Tails, you take Amy and get the hell out of here!" commanded Sonic and turned to the boys in blue. He jumped over the crowd of officers and turned to them.

"Hey! Come and get me you pompous, fat, donut-eating turkey gobityguk brains!" insulted Sonic and raced away down a street. Tails grabbed Amy by the arm, pulled her up onto the back of the Cyclone, and they were away, charging down a street.

They came to a dangerous looking bridge. They decided to cross it, after Amy saw a blue speeding blur winding its way through the tall buildings far away. Several minutes after walking along the bridge, an earthquake suddenly occurred and shook the bridge as if it was inside a blender. The section of bridge Tails and Amy were on, and it peeled away from the bridge and fell down onto a low road below. Tails was frightened, but not as much as Amy, who had gone totally white. Tails quickly got over the sudden fall and led the frightened Amy into an alleyway. After the earthquake died out, Tails and Amy stood a mobile phone in the young fox's hand. Sonic spoke up into the phone.

"Man! There is always too many police around" moaned Sonic "Have you located the other Chaos Emeralds or Eggman yet?".

"I haven't been able to get any readings from the other emeralds, Sonic!" explained Tails "I have a hunch Eggman might have taken them into outer space".

Amy, who was looking at an advertisement poster of Chao in Space 2, suddenly spun around and stared at Tails in amazement.

"Outer space!" she cried, her mouth agape.

There was a sudden knocking of metal and a nearby manhole lid flew open and Knuckles appeared, his quills dripping with water.

"Knuckles!" said Amy in surprise.

"Hey guys, long time no see" said Knuckles "Who knew searching for the pieces of the Master Emerald, would be so hard. I guess I got lost in the mines".

Tails ignored Knuckles and continued his conversation. Amy ran over to Knuckles and began to pull him out of the manhole.

"Sonic! Two things: Number one, Knuckles just showed up, and number two, I have located some transmission from Eggman. He is speaking to the President!" cried Tails.

"Cool! Track down the president's limo, I'll meet you there!" replied Sonic.

"Right on it Sonic!" replied Tails. The Cyclone suddenly began to transform, the legs disappearing into the interior of the vehicle to make way for four large wheels. A steering appeared in the cockpit and Tails drove the new Cyclone away into the distance. Amy had managed to get Knuckles half way out of the manhole, when she spotted Tails riding away.

"Hey! Wait for me Tails!" called Amy and she let go off Knuckles and tore down the street after the fox. Knuckles gasped as he plunged back down into the manhole.

Tails drove down Route 101, in a hurry to find the president's limousine. It was early morning and not many cars were on the highway, so Tails decided to break the speed limit and speed across the highway at 80 miles per hour.

"Tails, did you find the president?" asked Sonic over the radio in the Cyclone.

"I'm gaining on him, it should only be a matter of minutes" replied Tails.

Tails zoomed on, determined to find the president. His determination actually overpowered him and he accidentally knocked a taxi off the highway and down into the ocean below. Eventually, Tails' radar in the Cyclone detected the president's limo within a few yards. Tails pushed a button and the Cyclone reverted back into the Tornado.

"Yes! I found the president!" cheered Tails, and he suddenly noticed a blue blur streaking down the highway.

In the limo, the president, a tall thin man with black hair, sat uncomfortably in a seat, listening to his annoying secretary belt out a list of disasters.

"Mr. President, the country is in turmoil! This is a national crisis!" said the secretary.

"Spare me the details. Just what is it that you want, Dr. Eggman?" asked the president to Eggman, who was on the limo's television, thanks to a satellite link.

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we Mr. President?" said Eggman "I do not wish to bore you with details, because I know you are a very busy man. My desire is this: Surrender to the Eggman Empire and make no attempt to resist, otherwise…"

"Otherwise?" asked the president, staring worryingly at Eggman.

"Otherwise, your country will cease to exist! You have several hours to reply with your answer…" laughed Eggman.

"No way!" shouted Sonic, who suddenly jumped through the sunroof and landed in front of the president, Tails appearing beside him.

"What the?" cried the president in astonishment.

"Eggman Empire, yeah right!" laughed Sonic to Eggman.

Sonic?" cried Eggman in astonishment.

Sonic turned off the television with a quick kick. Tails downloaded the co-ordinates from Eggman's transmission and turned to Sonic.

"Sonic, Eggman has been transmitting from the space colony, ARK" declared Tails.

"Great! Let's go!" said Sonic. Tails jumped up and vanished above the sunroof.

"Don't worry Mr. President, we have everything under control!" assured Sonic to the president and he was gone through the sunroof.

"But, wait…" called the president.

"Mr. President, we are receiving an incoming message from our agent" interrupted the secretary, who had not noticed a single thing that had just happened.

The limousine drove away and Sonic and Tails clambered into the Tornado, which had become a bi-plane again.

"The space colony ARK, so that is where Eggman is hiding…" said Sonic.

"All we have to do is get there" said Tails.

"How?" asked Sonic.

"Er…I do not know!" said Tails and he bowed his head in shame.

The duo flew down to where they had left Amy and Knuckles and picked them up. It was a tight squeeze on the Tornado. Tails sat in the pilot seat, Sonic was forced to carry Amy just behind Tails, and Knuckles clung recklessly onto the tail of the plane.

"Eggman must have someway of getting to the ARK, perhaps a secret base" said Tails suddenly.

"Well, I did see a pyramid in the western desert that had a symbol of the Eggman Empire on it…" said Knuckles.

"Great Knuckles. We'll go there!" said Sonic smirking.

"Then turn the plane around, we are flying the wrong way!" shouted Knuckles.

"Oh, right" chuckled Tails and he turned the Tornado around. The Tornado flew over the highway, where Rouge was, driving in a white car. She spotted Tails and drove after him, all the way into the mountainous region Knuckles was in before. Rouge stopped and watched the plane fly away and disappeared in between some pumpkin shaped mountains.

"Shadow, they are in your area" said Rouge into a radio.

"Copy that, I am in pursuit" replied Shadow who was watching the Tornado soar by.

Shadow instantly jumped off the rocky ledge he was on and landed on a rail and began grinding around the canyon, his burning red eyes fixed on the Tornado. Shadow spent at least half of an hour grinding and changing rails, until he reached the end of the canyon. The Tornado flew on.

"Doctor, they are heading straight for your pyramid" said Shadow into his radio.

"Good, I shall take care of them" replied Eggman "I do not know what they are planning, but I shall give them a warm welcome!".

**Chapter 8: Punishment in the Pyramid**

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Amy stood on the edge of a desert, looking at a large yellow pyramid in the distance.

"That's where I saw Eggman go, and more importantly, that bat girl went with him!" said Knuckles.

"Right" said Sonic, not totally trusting Knuckles.

"You saw them to, right?" asked Knuckles to Amy.

"Yeah…" replied Amy.

"Me too!" said another voice.

Everyone turned around to see a large purple tabby cat with yellow moonlit eyes, a fishing rod in his right hand.

"Big!" cried Sonic "What are you doing here?".

Big strolled towards his friends. Sonic had once helped Big to free his pollywog pal, Froggy, from the grasp of Chaos 6. Tails had managed to hold Froggy for several minutes, but then Big turned up and Froggy got away, but Big was grateful. Knuckles and Amy helped Big on his adventure to find Froggy, and he sees them as his friends.

"I've been following you guys for ages" said Big in his dumb voice "And I have been through hell! I've been arrested, been run over by a speeding lorry, I nearly drowned, scared to death, and…and…and other things!".

"Okay!" shouted Sonic.

"I'll go and clear of the outer defences" said Tails, who sat in the Cyclone "Then you guys can come with me".

"Alright, Tails" said Sonic "Be careful".

"I'm always careful" said Tails and nearly tumbled into the quicksand.

Tails jumped across small platforms that floated around in the ocean of sand. He blasted down ancient walls and pillars in order to journey on. Eggman had not really put many defences up. All there were was annoying monkey robots that tossed bombs. Tails made quick work of the robots and eventually wound up in front of the main entrance to Eggman's base.

"Now to get the others over here" said Tails and launched a rocket into the sky and it exploded. Within moments, Sonic, Amy, Knuckles and Big appeared beside Tails.

"I'll go in next" said Sonic "To make sure it is safe".

Sonic ran into the pyramid and began destroying the guard robots. To be honest, Sonic thought that there were not many robots, except one that resembled E-102 Gamma, a robot that betrayed Eggman two years ago, but it ended up dying after he tried to save his brothers from destruction. Sonic quickly destroyed the robots and ran down long and winding corridors, bumping into small boggle-eyed ghosts every now and again. Sonic was getting a tiny bit nervous of being around with the ghosts. He then came to a giant door that was unfortunately locked. Later, Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Big arrived.

"Did you find the core of the pyramid yet?" moaned Amy.

"I bet this door leads to the core, but it is locked" replied Sonic, looking up at the door.

"I bet we require a key!" suggested Tails.

"But where are we going to find one?" asked Big.

"Knuckles…" said Sonic, turning around to look at his red friend.

"What? I don't have any keys. All I have is the pieces of the Master Emerald and my Shovel Claws" said Knuckles.

"Great, you can go and find the keys we need for this door! After all, you are a skilled treasure hunter" said Sonic.

"Okay…fine!" groaned Knuckles and he climbed up the wall and vanished into a dark room.

Knuckles' search for the keys was challenging. The first key was cleverly hidden in a wall. The second key took some time to get, because Knuckles had to keep hitting sand-timer shaped buttons to go through certain doors. He eventually found hidden in one of Eggman's Unidus robots. The third was by far the hardest to find. Knuckles searched the entire chamber he was in, but could not locate the final key. He then spotted it lying underneath a falling weight. Knuckles had to be quick. He dashed underneath the weight; somersaulted and grabbed the key just as the weight came crashing down to the stone floor.

"Phew, that was close" said Knuckles "Now which way back to the others?".

Knuckles looked around for an exit and noticed a door with weird black markings on it. The markings resembled four small ghosts bowing to what looked like a giant black duck. Knuckles didn't have time to read what all of the hieroglyphics were about. He pushed his way through the door and found himself in a lightened circular room. Light came from open roof panels on the ceiling. There were loads of markings on the walls, identical to the symbol on the door.

"What is with this place?" asked Knuckles.

Suddenly the roof panels slid shut and the room went dark. Knuckles looked around and heard some eerie spooky laughter that echoed throughout the room.

"Who is there?" asked Knuckles angrily.

"Boo" replied a loud and spooky voice.

"Boo who?" asked Knuckles.

"What are you crying about? No wait! I know! You're crying because you are about to die!" laughed the spooky voice.

"Show yourself! Where are you?" demanded Knuckles.

"Behind you…" replied the spooky voice.

Knuckles spun around and went wide eyed. Standing, or more floating in front of Knuckles, was a giant white ghost, illuminated with a blue glow. He had stubby clawed hands and yellow eyes. He was fat and had a multicoloured tongue and sharp teeth, hidden behind some giant black lips that made him look like a transparent duck.

"What the? A…a…ghost!" whimpered Knuckles, his knees starting to knock.

"Muhahahaha! You have entered the Death Chamber and now you have disturbed me. You shall face the wrath of King Boom Boo, The King of Ghosts!" cackled the ghost.

"Okay, bring it on you bag of floating wind!" challenged Knuckles to King Boom Boo. He had never battled against a ghost before.

King Boom Boo laughed and dived at Knuckles, who glided out of the way. Knuckles backed away as King Boom Boo reared up and turned around.

"Better start running echidna boy, otherwise you'll be dead!" laughed King Boom Boo and began chasing Knuckles around the circular room, chucking blue ghost flames at the echidna as he ran. Knuckles stopped and turned around to face the phantom.

"So you want to place rough do you!" shouted Knuckles and slammed his fist into King Boom Boo and sent the ghost spinning into a wall, and through it. King Boom Boo emerged and roared angrily. Knuckles ran away and Boom Boo followed, his yellow eyes burning with malice. King Boom Boo decided to spit out giant ghost flames from his mouth. The flames were fast and almost hit Knuckles. Knuckles dug underground to avoid King Boom Boo and the ghost stopped and looked around. Knuckles resurfaced behind King Boom Boo and he spotted a small ghost behind King Boom Boo, carrying a large sand-timer. Knuckles quickly clambered out of the ground, punched the small ghost and made it drop the sand-timer. The small ghost vanished and King Boom Boo turned around and shrieked. The sand-timer landed on its opposite side and sand poured into the bottom half. The roof panels suddenly opened and allowed light to flood the room. Boom Boo screamed for mercy and he melted away into the floor and became a hideous shadow. The shadow sped across the floor and up a wall, desperately trying to flee from the sunlight. Knuckles saw this as the ghost's weakness, so he glided to where King Boom Boo was and punched the shadow. King Boom Boo emerged from his shadow and floated away, in a smaller form. Knuckles gave chase and kicked King Boom Boo in the butt. Just then, the roof panels slid back and darkness took control again.

"Uh-oh…" said Knuckles.

King Boom Boo rose up from the ground before Knuckles, his eyes now red.

"You just made the ultimate mistake, echidna!" growled King Boom Boo and roared madly.

Knuckles dashed away from King Boom Boo and the ghost followed, determined to eat Knuckles. Knuckles clambered up a wall to confuse Boom Boo, but the royal ghost was not going to be fooled. King Boom Boo formed a powerful blue flame in his hand and threw it at the wall in the middle of the room. The flame collided with the wall and it immediately exploded, sending Knuckles falling to the stone floor. Now there was nothing between Knuckles and King Boom Boo.

"You have reached a dead end…" said King Boom Boo.

"Let's end this!" snarled Knuckles and he charged at Boom Boo, who did likewise.

Suddenly, a pink floating ball appeared out of no where and froze King Boom Boo in time.

"Can it be? Tikal?" said Knuckles.

"Yes Knuckles, it is me" replied Tikal who appeared.

"What are you doing here?" asked Knuckles.

"I came to assist you of course!" chuckled Tikal. King Boom Boo suddenly came unfroze and spotted Tikal.

"Well looks like two echidnas are going to die!" laughed the ghost and lunged at Tikal. The gem on Tikal's head suddenly glowed and a shield surrounded the echidnas. King Boom Boo was deflected off the shield and was flung to the ground. King Boom Boo groaned and slowly floated upwards. Knuckles spotted the sand-timer and grabbed it. He smashed his fist right through the timer and it glowed in a powerful blue light. It then shattered to pieces and the shockwaves of the explosion caused the roof panels to open up and pure white light surged into the room. Knuckles and Tikal looked on as the light hit King Boom Boo, who winced and wailed with pain.

"Ack! Ahhhh! No! Not this! It is simply impossible!" cried King Boom Boo.

"Ha. You didn't stand a ghost of a chance, King Boom Boo" said Knuckles "Prepare to be de-crowned".

"Oh no! No! NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed King Boom Boo, who was attacked by yellow lights and he then spun around very fast, until he exploded to dust.

Later, Knuckles and Tikal emerged from the chamber, the keys in Knuckles' palm. Sonic spotted the two echidnas and ran over to them.

"Knuckles? What is Tikal doing here?" asked Sonic.

"That is not important" interrupted Tikal "You must get to the ARK, before it is to late!".

"Okay, Tikal" replied Sonic and he took the keys from Knuckles and unlocked the giant door. The heroes entered a large room with a circular pool of quicksand in the centre. There was a door on the left that said "Shuttle Bay".

"Yes! Let's go guys!" shouted Sonic and began walking towards the door,

"Come on Amy" said Tails.

"Yeah!" cheered Amy, leaping up and down.

"You little thieves! Don't expect to get out of here alive!" shouted a voice and a secret door opened up to reveal Eggman in all his glory.

"Come and get some Eggman!" challenged Sonic.

"I will win this time Sonic! I shall get the Chaos Emeralds and take your lives in the process!" laughed Eggman. Metal Sonic appeared beside Eggman's side and smirked at his counterpart.

"But first…I would like to perform a little thing I've been practicing" said Eggman.

"You what?" asked Sonic.

A stage suddenly grew up from the floor, complete with smoke machines and lights. Metal Sonic, Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll and Egg Robo appeared on the stage and grabbed instruments. Metal Sonic and Tails Doll were on guitars, Metal Knuckles was on the drums and Egg Robo stood behind the a keyboard.

"Oh no, I see where this is going!" cried Tails.

Music blasted into the air as Eggman jumped onto the stage and seized a microphone.

_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah_

The story begins,  
But who's gonna win?  
You know where the danger lies within.  
Aboard the ARK,  
A genius at heart,  
Wanting to unlock the mysteries of life.

I am the Eggman, that's what I am,  
I am the Eggman, I got the master plan.  
I am the Eggman, that's what I am,  
I am the Eggman, I got the master plan.

I'm plotting my schemes,  
Wherever I go,  
They're perfect in every way.  
I'd love to destroy,  
The blue one you know,  
He's an obstacle who always gets in my way.

I must, play this game by my rules,  
I will, conquer the world with my tools.  
All my machines, are made for destruction,  
I will build, my empire.  
I will succeed, and you will see,  
With my machine, there is no retreat.

_I am the Eggman, that's what I am,  
I am the Eggman, I got the master plan.  
I am the Eggman, that's what I am,  
I am the Eggman, I got the master plan._

_I am the enemy, I will succeed,  
My mission, yeah, I must complete.  
My name is Eggman, don't forget my name,  
If you ask me again, I'll tell you the same!_

_I am the Eggman, that's what I am,  
I am the Eggman, I got the master plan.  
I am the Eggman, that's what I am,  
I am the Eggman, I got the master, master plan.  
I am the Eggmaaaaaan!_

As the music finished, Eggman looked at his audience. They were embarrassed and wide-eyed.

"What do think?" asked Eggman.

"I wasn't…bad…" said Tails.

"Enough of this foolery!" shouted Metal Sonic, throwing the guitar away "It is time to die, Sonic!".

"Bring it on!" said Sonic smirking.

"So be it!" replied Metal Sonic.

The two blue hedgehogs stared eachother down in a long and boring staring contest. Metal Sonic then charged at Sonic and decided to thrust his left talon forward so he could punch Sonic. Sonic blocked Metal's attack, and then kicked him in the chest and sent him flying into a wall. Metal Sonic sped forward again and leapt up into the air, smashing through the ceiling and up into the blue sky. Sonic sped up a wall as fast as he could go and flew up into the sky opposite Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic and Sonic both performed a homing attack on eachother and the attack hit home and they went flying back into the pyramid. Sonic landed on the ground like a cat, but Metal Sonic landed with a smash. His visor was empty with blackness.

Eggman growled angrily and stared at Sonic. "You may beaten Metal Sonic, but you will not defeat the Egg Golem!" shouted Eggman "Come out my servant!".

Sonic looked towards the pool of quicksand and from it emerged a giant stone statue of an ancient pharaoh. It stood high above Sonic, looking down at him like a bully.

"Alright then. Let's rock!" said Sonic and leapt on a round platform, held up by pillars. The Egg Golem slammed its rocky fist down upon the platform and missed Sonic who jumped aside. Sonic noticed a strange item on top of the golem's head. Maybe that was its weakspot. Sonic dodged the Egg Golem's attack and bounced up some stone steps imbedded in the golem's back. Sonic then used a Homing Attack and took out the object on the golem's head. The golem stumbled and fell over.

"Sonic must have destroyed the restraining chip! Stupid piece of machinery!" shouted Eggman.

The Egg Golem heard Eggman and attacked him. Eggman reacted quickly. He targeted the golem's chest and blew out its engines. The Egg Golem twirled around like a ballerina and sank into the quicksand. Eggman scooped up Metal Sonic and vanished into a door. The heroes had boarded a shuttle already and Sonic raced to get to the shuttle.

"Shuttle launch in 5…4…3…2…1...THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!" screamed a robot "Sorry, I mean, BLAST OFF!".

The shuttle blasted out of the top of the pyramid and into the sky. It was heading for its next destination:

The Space Colony ARK!


	4. Battles on the Ark

Previously on Sonic Adventure 2:

Eggman took control of the world's communications and informed the world he would conquer the globe. He then showed off his power by firing the Eclipse Cannon which took out half of the moon. Eggman then wonders where the yellow Chaos Emerald was, and he then discovered Tails had it, thanks to an old newspaper. Eggman orders Shadow and Rouge to retrieve the emerald. Sonic, Tails and Amy find Knuckles who had recently found more Master Emerald in an abandoned mine. Sonic and Tails find the president who is discussing matters with Eggman. Tails downloads Eggman's co-ordinates and informs Sonic that Eggman is on the Space Colony ARK. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Big (who appears out of no where!) infiltrate Eggman's pyramid base to find a way to get to ARK. Knuckles goes to search for keys to access the main area of the base, but runs into King Boom Boo. The two fight and then Tikal appears and defeats King Boom Boo. Eggman performs his own song and then Sonic fights against Metal Sonic and the Egg Golem. The heroes then clamber into a space shuttle and head out into space. What will happen next?

**Chapter 9: Aboard the ARK**

The space shuttle, carrying Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, Big and Tikal flew through space towards the ARK.

"So that is the Space Colony ARK" said Sonic, looking out the windscreen in awe.

"It is really big" said Big.

"And beautiful…well outer space is…" said Amy.

"I hope we don't get lost on that thing" said Tails.

"I can sense the other Chaos Emeralds in that colony" said Tikal.

"Me too…" added Knuckles.

Sonic flew the shuttle past meteorites to get to the ARK. He accidentally hit one on the way and the shuttle wobbled out of control. The cargo bay of the shuttle opened and several emerald shards of the Master Emerald flew out into space towards the gravitational pull of small planet like meteorites that circled the ARK. Knuckles gasped as he saw green glints of light float away into space.

"Oh no! The Master Emerald pieces!" cried Knuckles.

"Don't worry Knuckles" said Sonic.

"Don't worry? DON'T WORRY!" shouted Knuckles and he seized the controls.

"Hey leave the controls alone. What are you doing? Wait! Don't pull that lever!" shouted Sonic and the shuttle began spinning out of control. Everyone screamed.

Thankfully, the shuttle span right into the Ark's gravitational pull and safely landed in the shuttle bay. Knuckles was out of the shuttle like a shot and flew off to search for his precious emerald shards. Sonic, Tails, Amy, Tikal and Big walked down a long corridor.

"Trust that knucklehead to steer us out of control and almost kill us!" moaned Sonic.

"This ARK is quiet and dusty" said Amy.

"The ARK is the first Bernoulli spherical space colony. It was shut down 50 years ago, under some sort of accident" explained Tails.

"I ain't any history major, but I know that the cannon will fire soon. What's the plan Tails?" said Sonic.

"Well, the cannon is supposed to be designed to withstand outside attacks" explained Tails.

He then withdrew the yellow Chaos Emerald, only it looked a bit less bright as it was before.

"Tails, what happened to the Chaos Emerald?" asked Amy.

"The emerald is fine" said Tails and brought out a second Chaos Emerald.

"Tails! What the heck!" cried Sonic in alarm.

"Don't panic. This is a fake Chaos Emerald" said Tails, looking at the emerald in his right hand.

"Oh…" said Amy.

"I created it after I did research on the real Chaos Emerald. It has the same wavelength and properties, but not as powerful" explained Tails "Not even a machine can tell the difference. Anyway, this emerald's purpose is to reverse the energy flow of the Chaos Emeralds and self-destruct!".

"So you're saying that if we place the fake emerald with the Chaos Emeralds, it will blow up and destroy the Eclipse Cannon?" asked Sonic eagerly.

"Yes, I shall go and shut down the main generator, which will give you enough time to place the fake emerald in the cannon's core and then you get your blue behind out of there, and then the fake emerald should blow up and take the cannon within, thus the world is saved!" explained Tails.

"Brilliant!" cheered Sonic and he raced off down the corridor and vanished. Tails quickly followed, but went in the opposite direction from Sonic. Amy realised Tikal and Big had also sneaked away and so she was all alone.

"I hate it when they leave me behind!" growled Amy and she stomped off down the corridor.

Tails charged across the ARK to the main generator, and discovered that the colony had some impressive security systems. Tails had to be careful, because there was giant land mine in one room, and if that went off, he would be killed. Tails then came across the main generator and fired at it with the Vulcan Cannon. It exploded to smithereens.

Meanwhile, back in the pyramid base, Eggman and Shadow watched the video footage of Sonic, Tails and Amy's discussion.

"So they thought they could trick me with that fake emerald?" laughed Eggman.

Shadow slowly walked towards the transporter. "Shadow wait! I am the one to tell them the end is near" said Eggman "It is time for me to take my place in history as the ultimate scientist".

Eggman lumbered over to the transporter himself and began to vanish. He looked back at Shadow.

"You must finish the job, if anything happens to me…" said Eggman and he vanished.

Eggman teleported into a small bunch of platforms, under ARK. He decided it was the best way to reach Amy. He had to hitchhike on small platforms and discovered it was actually some sort of shooting gallery ride.

Amy walked helplessly about in the abandoned laboratory which looked out onto the Earth.

"Oh…why do Sonic and Tails always leave a sweet, innocent girl like me behind" sobbed Amy.

"Perhaps I can help with that my dear?" said Eggman as he appeared in the room.

"Dr. Eggman!" screamed Amy.

Eggman pointed a large red pistol at Amy as she gasped.

"If you value your life Amy, you will co-operate with me! Now where are Sonic and Tails?" threatened Eggman.

Meanwhile, Rouge was flying about on some rock like planets that were orbiting the ARK. The computer in the central control room had indicated that some Master Emerald pieces were floating around the ARK, and Rouge decided to take this opportunity to continue her search. There were three main planets: Holy Planet, Capsule Planet and the Spherical Planet. Rouge took a while to find the pieces of the Master Emerald, as she had to deal with the GUN robots that were left to guard the ARK.

Knuckles had ventured into a heavily built area with many support towers. Knuckles was worried that if he knocked one of the towers over, the whole space colony would come tumbling down. Plus, a herd of meteors were floating around the area and every so often, one or two came tumbling down and crashed into the metal. Knuckles moved quickly and managed to find all the emeralds in the area.

Rouge and Knuckles both ran along a metal bar of a tower and met eachother unexpectedly. Knuckles growled angrily at the sight of Rouge.

"Long time no see, treasure hunter," greeted Rouge. "Have you come to give back my emeralds?".

"For the final time, the Master Emerald is mine and it is my duty to protect it!" shouted Knuckles and battled insured.

Knuckles swung his fists countless times, but Rouge dodged each blow and then kicked Knuckles with a lightning fast manoeuvre. Knuckles took the hit and he glided over Rouge and launched an uppercut on Rouge that sent are flying backwards. Rouge then stood up angrily.

"Now you've got me mad!" snarled Rouge and she ran at Knuckles, but she suddenly slipped on the support beam and tumbled down towards the molten metal below.

Thinking her life was about to finish, Rouge closed her eyes, but she was suddenly halted in her fall by Knuckles, who had leapt over the beam to help her. He pulled the bat up and she immediately got lost in his purple eyes, the same with Knuckles who was searching her emerald coloured eyes. Rouge then removed her hand from Knuckles and stood up.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" snapped Rouge.

"I just saved your life, batgirl!" replied Knuckles.

"You just wanted to hold my hand. You're such a creep" said Rouge.

"I just want the pieces of the Master Emerald. Is that too much to ask?" said Knuckles.

"Fine. Take them. They stink like echidnas do!" sighed Rouge and surrendered her pieces of the Master Emerald.

"Wha-?" asked Knuckles bewildered.

The guardian then nodded, scooped up the pieces and fused them with the rest of the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald shone brightly.

"There, all back to normal" said Knuckles.

"So you've got your stupid emerald back, big deal!" snorted Rouge, folding her arms.

"I'm sorry…If I hurt you…" said Knuckles, picking up the Master Emerald and sprinting off.

Rouge turned away and began to walk away herself, but then she looked back in the direction that her rescuer had vanished and smiled.

**Chapter 10: The Hero Is History **

Sonic entered the central control room and approached the six other Chaos Emeralds that were already inside the cannon. Sonic looked at the fake yellow emerald in his hand and was about to shove the emerald in the empty slot in the cannon, when Tails spoke up on the radio.

"Sonic, come back, Amy is…" cried Tails, but he was suddenly cut off.

"Tails?" shouted Sonic into the radio.

"Muhahahaha! I have Amy captive!" laughed the voice of Eggman. "Come to the observatory and bring the Chaos Emerald with you!".

Sonic did as Eggman told and he rushed across the ark to the observatory. Tails was already there. Amy stood on the other side of the observatory, Eggman threatening her with his pistol. Sonic entered the room.

"Let's get down to business, shall we Sonic. Put down the Chaos Emerald in the centre of the room and then we'll discuss what will happen to your girlfriend!" said Eggman.

Sonic looked from Eggman, to Amy and then to Tails. He then looked down at the fake emerald in his palm.

"_Handing over the emerald will kill two birds with one stone…_" thought Sonic and glanced at Tails, who nodded.

Sonic strolled over to the middle of the room and placed the fake emerald on the floor.

"You've become a big-time villain, Eggman" said Sonic.

But before Sonic to back off, Eggman hit a button on the control panel beside him. A glass capsule dropped down and trapped Sonic.

"You thought you could trick me with that fake emerald?" asked Eggman angrily.

"But how did you know which was the fake one?" asked Tails.

"Tails!" shouted Sonic.

"Because you just told me, foxboy" said Eggman and laughed fiendishly.

Tails' mouth fell open in shock.

"Now, it's time to go for a little space ride," said Eggman. "Once the capsule clears the ARK, BAM!".

Sonic bowed his head and then looked over to Tails, who had watery eyes.

"I'm counting on you Tails…" said Sonic and he looked over to Amy, who was already crying. "And Amy, you take care of yourself".

"Farewell, Sonic the Hedgehog!" shouted Eggman, saluting Sonic and pressing another button on the control panel.

The capsule containing Sonic vanished and tumbled down into space. He picked up the emerald and remembered what Tails had said: "The emerald has the same wavelengths and priorities…"

"That's it…" said Sonic and he clutched the emerald in his hand. "CHAOS CONTROL!".

The capsule exploded and everyone gasped. Big and Tikal, who had gone for a wander had seen Sonic fall into space and they hung their heads in sadness. Rouge had also seen the explosion, so had Shadow.

"I guess he was a normal hedgehog after all" said Shadow disappointed.

"SONIC!" cried Amy, falling to the floor and crying.

"No…" whispered Tails, brushing a tear from his eye.

Eggman watched silently from the observatory as the remains of the capsule fell down towards Earth.

"Farewell Sonic…my admirable adversary…" said Eggman, a tear of regret falling onto his moustache.

Metal Sonic watched the footage of Sonic's capsule explode from Eggman's pyramid base and he shook his head angrily. He then stepped on the transporter and was teleported to the ARK.

Eggman turned around to face Tails.

"Here's the deal Tails, hand over the Chaos Emerald and you and Amy will be spared" ordered Eggman.

"Sonic…" said Tails.

"Huh?" said Eggman.

"You fat walking piece of rotten egg!" cursed Tails.

"Tails?" cried Amy in surprise.

"There is one good thing I've learnt from Sonic!" cried Tails "Never give up!".

"Then I shall take the emerald by brute force!" snarled Eggman.

The two enemies battled it out with laserbeams, missiles and giant laser blasts. Eggman appeared to be winning, but then Tails used the power of the Chaos Emerald to fire a deadly blue and pink beam of energy at Eggman. Eggman fled around the observatory, chasing after Eggman. Amy had retreated to the doorway of the observatory, watching the fight from a far off distance. She was quickly joined by Tikal and Big.

Knuckles walked down a corridor carrying the Master Emerald, when he suddenly stopped.

"I feel a strange energy, getting closer" said Knuckles.

A flash of green suddenly illuminated the room and Sonic fell to the floor.

"Sonic? Where did you come from?" asked Knuckles, placing the Master Emerald on the floor and helping Sonic stand up.

"I managed to use Chaos Control…" said Sonic.

"Are you okay?" asked Knuckles.

"Yeah, I'm fine" replied Sonic, looking at Knuckles and then at the emerald in his hand. "Hey Knuckles, could you go and help Tails and Amy, I've got try and slam dunk this emerald in the cannon before it fires!".

"Sure, no problem" said Knuckles as Sonic dashed off, heading for the cannon's core.

Meanwhile, at the control room, Rouge stood before the Chaos Emeralds, smiling.

"I guess my mission here is over, I now have six Chaos Emeralds! They're mine!" said Rouge.

"I don't think so…" hissed a cold voice.

"Shadow!" cried Rouge, turning around to face the black hedgehog.

"Now I see what's going on. The president told you to bring the Chaos Emeralds to him. You're a government spy!" said Shadow angrily.

"So you know my secret," said Rouge and she pulled a printed paper from her suit. "Here are the results of Project Shadow".

She held the paper in Shadow's face. It showed an image of a giant lizard; a life support system on its back.

"If this is the Ultimate Lifeform, then what is standing in front of me?" asked Rouge to Shadow, who stood completely still.

A long silence ensured, Rouge looking at Shadow who stood rooted to the spot, his eyes lost in a labyrinth of thought and unanswered questions.

"Shadow, someone is trying to get to Eclipse Cannon. Get down there and stop whoever it is!" shouted Eggman over the radio.

"I'll take care of it, doctor" replied Shadow and then turned to go.

"Don't touch those emeralds, if you want to live" said Shadow as he slowly walked away.

"Ah, but what if all your memories are false and your time with Maria on the ARK never actually happened" spat Rouge, staring enthusiastically at the retreating black hedgehog.

"Even if they are, I will still keep my promise to Maria!" stated Shadow and skated away.

Sonic dashed across the ARK towards the giant Eclipse Cannon which was set to fire in a manner of minutes. He grinded down a series of rails and then ran into Metal Sonic, who tried to dispose of his enemy by slamming a metal fist into his face. Sonic managed to avoid Metal Sonic and he ran on towards the cannon. Shadow also made his way to the cannon as well, and used Chaos Control to quicken up the pace.

Sonic then arrived at a long maintenance platform which led all the way to the Eclipse Cannon. As he was about to take off, he heard a familiar voice.

"You impress me, hedgehog. Able to use Chaos Control with that fake emerald" said Shadow.

"Heh, I guess you thought you were the only one that could do it" laughed Sonic, who started to break into a jog.

"I guess I underestimated you," said Shadow, also starting to jog. "Just what are you?".

"Just a nice guy who likes adventures. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" announced Sonic.

"I'll find out the truth about someday, but I can't let you live. Your adventuring days are about to come to an end!".

The two started running and the half race, half battle was massive. Chaos Controls, Sonic Winds and Chaos Spears exploded as the two hedgehogs ran for the Eclipse Cannon, each one trying to get ahead by using Chaos Control. Sonic then won the fight by using Chaos Control and appearing above Shadow and knocking him out with a Sonic Wind. Sonic then made a quick rush to the cannon and threw the fake emerald into the cannon with only ten seconds until it fired and Earth became dust.

Tails and Eggman were still duelling in the observatory, their walkers almost ready to fall apart. Tails then managed to fire a flurry of missiles from the Cyclone and defeated Eggman. However, in the process, the yellow Chaos Emerald fell out of the Cyclone and Eggman grabbed it and slithered his way out of the observatory.

"Sonic, I did it!" said Tails.

"Way to go, Tails!" cried Sonic's voice.

"What? Sonic?" bellowed Tails.

"Where?" cried Amy, dashing into the room, followed by Big and Tikal.

"Look outside" called Sonic.

The group stared out of window to see the cannon explode and Sonic hanging from a bar, grinning at his friends. Amy squealed with joy as she hammered on the window with her hands, as if she was a vulture trying to reach its prey.

"We saved the world!" cheered Sonic and stuck his thumb up and his pals.

Knuckles suddenly appeared and helped Sonic onto the bar. Tails then looked about and realised Eggman had made off with the last emerald.

"Eggman has made off with last emerald!" shrieked Tails.

"Relax Tails. Eggman doesn't know that the cannon was destroyed!" said Sonic.

"Maybe we should get into the ARK?" suggested Knuckles.

"Good idea, Knuckles" replied Sonic and the two left the cannon.

In the central control room, Eggman tossed the last Chaos Emerald into the cannon slot grid and he burst out laughing.

"Now! My legacy shall begin. The legacy of…The Eggman Empire! Mwahahahahaha!" laughed Eggman.

But as the doctor rejoiced, he failed to notice that the computer screen was flashing with a word in the centre.

D A N G E R !

To be continued…


End file.
